What can I expect...4 night Majesty Bahamas

[timothy998]

We have only one cruise under our belts, on HAL, and I'm thinking of surprising DW with a cruise for her birthday next summer...we're already planning a trip to Florida so it wouldn't be that difficult to add on a few days for a cruise. We have three kids who'll be 12, 8, & 4 at the time, so the kids' club is of consideration, as they liked Club HAL. The itinerary looks good...but we haven't been to the locations (Key West, Nassua, CoCo Cay), so trust that CoCo Cay is similar to Half Moon Cay(?).

 

Is this going to be a party ship where we leave the kids with Grandpa (probably not gonna happen), or would we be okay taking them along in mid- to late-July?

 

Thanks for any help!

[aurelius180]

We have only one cruise under our belts, on HAL, and I'm thinking of surprising DW with a cruise for her birthday next summer...we're already planning a trip to Florida so it wouldn't be that difficult to add on a few days for a cruise. We have three kids who'll be 12, 8, & 4 at the time, so the kids' club is of consideration, as they liked Club HAL. The itinerary looks good...but we haven't been to the locations (Key West, Nassua, CoCo Cay), so trust that CoCo Cay is similar to Half Moon Cay(?).

 

Is this going to be a party ship where we leave the kids with Grandpa (probably not gonna happen), or would we be okay taking them along in mid- to late-July?

 

Thanks for any help!

 

 

I love the Majesty and just did the 4-nighter in June. It really wasn't that much of a "party" cruise. It's very port intensive relative to the length so I think if there was a lot of partying it happened in port. We actually found it relatively quiet at night...except the midnight buffet. :p

 

Coco Cay is a really beautiful place and I think both the adults and kids will love it. Plenty of activities and plenty of space to relax. Key West is one of my favorite places to visit as well! It's a very eclectic place and enjoyable just to walk around although excursions are available as well.

 

Enjoy it if you decide to go! :D

[John Henry on CC]

We have only one cruise under our belts, on HAL, and I'm thinking of surprising DW with a cruise for her birthday next summer...we're already planning a trip to Florida so it wouldn't be that difficult to add on a few days for a cruise. We have three kids who'll be 12, 8, & 4 at the time, so the kids' club is of consideration, as they liked Club HAL. The itinerary looks good...but we haven't been to the locations (Key West, Nassua, CoCo Cay), so trust that CoCo Cay is similar to Half Moon Cay(?).

 

Is this going to be a party ship where we leave the kids with Grandpa (probably not gonna happen), or would we be okay taking them along in mid- to late-July?

 

Thanks for any help!

 

In Key West, take the kids to the Butterfly Conservatory. They will love it. Also walk around - there are wild chickens. Always good for smiles on the children. If they are really into animals, go to the Ernest Hemingway House. You can enjoy the literary history, and they can gawk at the polydactyl cats. Some of them have eight toes on each front paw!

 

To continue the animal theme.............you can go on a "nature trail" on CocoCay and see LOTS of lizards and newts. Closer to the beach area, you'll see iguanas. (Look in the shade under the people on hammocks! :eek: ;))

[Grannycb]

We've done two family cruises on Majesty. You will be so busy at the ports the kids won't have much time to spend at the Adventure Ocean. We found the beach day at Blue Lagoon (Nassau) was a nice outing that came complete with lunch for a reasonable cost. I'd also recommend a walk through Atlantis to see the aquarium. Key West was good for walking around, looking at all the shops, checking out the cats and chickens. We've also gone out snorkeling on a catamaran at Key West. The private island day is a fun beach day.

 

Go to the Ports of Call section of CC to read about each of your ports. There are some great tips there.

Bahamas - http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=58

Key West - http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=155

Private Islands - http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=406

[patseacruiser]

Kids will love it - You will love it. When they do use the kids club there will be plenty of kids at that time of year especially if these late booking deals keep up next year. Key West - just a great place to visit. Atlantis awesome. Go as a family and you'll enjoy.

[bigreid07]

It's a very relaxed itinerary, at least for ship activities. Since you're not At Sea during the day, you dont get to have a lot of the fun stuff. But, at the end of the day, it's a cruise and you're on vacation. Anything's better than being at work, right?

[A2Mich]

Kids will love it - You will love it. When they do use the kids club there will be plenty of kids at that time of year especially if these late booking deals keep up next year. Key West - just a great place to visit. Atlantis awesome. Go as a family and you'll enjoy.

 

BTW, just so the OP isn't confused, Atlantis is in Nassau....the way this response was worded, it looked misleading.

[timothy998]

Thanks for the feedback everyone! Now I just hope that bonus comes through! The fares are pretty good...around $400-450/person for outside. As it was port intensive, we like to do the "beach" thing, and those locations looked good. Are there any formal nights or can we leave the dress clothes at home? Our neighbors loved Atlantis, so it would be fun to see...thanks for the tip...I surmised it was in Naussua (thanks for the clarification)!

[A2Mich]

Thanks for the feedback everyone! Now I just hope that bonus comes through! The fares are pretty good...around $400-450/person for outside. As it was port intensive, we like to do the "beach" thing, and those locations looked good. Are there any formal nights or can we leave the dress clothes at home? Our neighbors loved Atlantis, so it would be fun to see...thanks for the tip...I surmised it was in Naussua (thanks for the clarification)!

 

You will probably have 1 formal night. Well, not everyone may know where Atlantis is located....just tryin' to help out. We took a tour of Atlantis in 1998 while much of the hotel was still under construction (the aquarium was open, BTW). Nice hotel, and might consider staying there is we took a land vacation to the Bahamas (would rather take a land vacation in St Thomas or Barbados before the Bahamas, but that is my opinion)

[amybeth4]

Formal night is night 2. The rest are casual.

[timothy998]

I appreciate the feedback, everyone. Thank you!

 

The itinerary sounds like you can do as much (or little) as you wish during the port days...my crew is happy being beach bums, but touring Atlantis & the butterfly farms would also be a blast.

 

Is room service included in the fare...(though we still gave the servers a tip each time)? Since each line has its own idiosyncracies, I'm trying to figure out the "fit," but it looks pretty good so far. Also, are any special waterslides onboard (or am I confused with another ship/line)?

 

I'd like to also get my mother, father-in-law, and my DW's brother & his family to join, but not sure that'll happen, due to some motion sickness issues(even though there are good meds out there, SIL is nursing a baby who'll turn 1 next August, and the baby's age would also be of concern to them...though their then 5-year old and our 4-year old would have a blast!

 

The thing that interests me, is that for the same amount of time, though there aren't any "rides" other than the wave motion, the cost is about HALF what we'd pay at WDW for about the same length of trip.

[newbiecruiser09]

The thing that interests me, is that for the same amount of time, though there aren't any "rides" other than the wave motion, the cost is about HALF what we'd pay at WDW for about the same length of trip.

 

I too am considering this cruise but next Spring Break. Hubby & I were on the Monarch last April and now the kids (12 & 6) want to go on a cruise. We are considering WDW vs Disney cruise vs Monarch or Majesty. RCI options are definitely less expensive but not sure how the kids will like it. Will there be kids during pre-Easter week? or will most families take a longer (7-9 day) cruise and we will be with more of the partiers/empty nesters? (on our April cruise there were only about 250 kids so that is what I am concerned about)

 

Any help from families that have taken this cruise on spring break week? Thanks!

[John Henry on CC]

I appreciate the feedback, everyone. Thank you!

 

The itinerary sounds like you can do as much (or little) as you wish during the port days...my crew is happy being beach bums, but touring Atlantis & the butterfly farms would also be a blast.

 

Is room service included in the fare...(though we still gave the servers a tip each time)? Since each line has its own idiosyncracies, I'm trying to figure out the "fit," but it looks pretty good so far. Also, are any special waterslides onboard (or am I confused with another ship/line)?

 

I'd like to also get my mother, father-in-law, and my DW's brother & his family to join, but not sure that'll happen, due to some motion sickness issues(even though there are good meds out there, SIL is nursing a baby who'll turn 1 next August, and the baby's age would also be of concern to them...though their then 5-year old and our 4-year old would have a blast!

 

The thing that interests me, is that for the same amount of time, though there aren't any "rides" other than the wave motion, the cost is about HALF what we'd pay at WDW for about the same length of trip.

Room service is free, except for the tip you mentioned, from 5 a.m. until midnight. From midnight until 5 a.m., there is a $3.95 service charge.

 

No waterslide on Majesty of the Seas.

 

Age limits: Baby must be at least 6 months old at the day of sailing.

 

Adventure Ocean for kids 3 and up.

 

No diapers or swimmies or unpottytrained people in the pools.

 

"Mommy & Me" type activities for 6 months to 36 months.

[John Henry on CC]

I too am considering this cruise but next Spring Break. Hubby & I were on the Monarch last April and now the kids (12 & 6) want to go on a cruise. We are considering WDW vs Disney cruise vs Monarch or Majesty. RCI options are definitely less expensive but not sure how the kids will like it. Will there be kids during pre-Easter week? or will most families take a longer (7-9 day) cruise and we will be with more of the partiers/empty nesters? (on our April cruise there were only about 250 kids so that is what I am concerned about)

 

Any help from families that have taken this cruise on spring break week? Thanks!

 

Some schools have that week as their spring break, so there will be plenty of kids on board.

 

One suggestion: WDW followed by a Monarch cruise. It's the perfect way to relax and vacation after the frenetic activity of a Disney stay.

[newbiecruiser09]

 

One suggestion: WDW followed by a Monarch cruise. It's the perfect way to relax and vacation after the frenetic activity of a Disney stay.

 

Would love to do this but unfortunately those 6 good numbers plus the Powerball have not come up for us yet!! :rolleyes: Will only be able to swing either WDW or a cruise, not both.

 

Thanks for the info!

[John Henry on CC]

Would love to do this but unfortunately those 6 good numbers plus the Powerball have not come up for us yet!! :rolleyes: Will only be able to swing either WDW or a cruise, not both.

 

Thanks for the info!

Try MegaMillions! ;)

[amybeth4]

 

The thing that interests me, is that for the same amount of time, though there aren't any "rides" other than the wave motion, the cost is about HALF what we'd pay at WDW for about the same length of trip.

 

I'm confused about "there aren't any "rides" other than the wave motion." Are you talking about the flowrider being on the Majesty? Cuz it's not...it's quite a (relatively) small ship. The only "bell or whistle" it has is the rock climbing wall.

[timothy998]

The more I think about it the more the cruise makes sense...especially with WDW pricing and the port intensive itinerary. I just need to see how our finances are in the spring...we don't like to buy anything we can't pay for in the next credit card cycle. Also, if all my in-laws came (very small family) the baby would be nearly a year, so all the little ones would be fine.

 

My DW told me she doesn't want a 40th birthday party, so I figure this would be a good way to celebrate w/out a party! I"m just trying to do as much background work as I can so that whatever we do for her is a fait accompli once I "announce" it to her.

 

I do know that our bigger kids would like the rock climbing wall. I trust they charge extra for that????

[John Henry on CC]

The more I think about it the more the cruise makes sense...especially with WDW pricing and the port intensive itinerary. I just need to see how our finances are in the spring...we don't like to buy anything we can't pay for in the next credit card cycle. Also, if all my in-laws came (very small family) the baby would be nearly a year, so all the little ones would be fine.

 

My DW told me she doesn't want a 40th birthday party, so I figure this would be a good way to celebrate w/out a party! I"m just trying to do as much background work as I can so that whatever we do for her is a fait accompli once I "announce" it to her.

 

I do know that our bigger kids would like the rock climbing wall. I trust they charge extra for that????

Absolutely not!

 

See, now the decision in favor of the cruise, instead of WDW, is even easier!

 

:D

[John Henry on CC]

I'm confused about "there aren't any "rides" other than the wave motion." Are you talking about the flowrider being on the Majesty? Cuz it's not...it's quite a (relatively) small ship. The only "bell or whistle" it has is the rock climbing wall.

 

No, he is saying that WDW has rides, but the Majesty only has the motion of the ocean!

[amybeth4]

No, he is saying that WDW has rides, but the Majesty only has the motion of the ocean!

 

Funny. I'm usually really good at figuring out what the F people are talking about on these boards...but that one got me. I don't think I would've ever figured it out, haha. Thanks!

[timothy998]

Thanks for catching my "rides" pun. When we were on HAL last spring, we were in a gale for a couple of days...the ship hit 7-12' waves, which is nothing like other cruises had experienced, but with the windspeed added to the ship's speed, it meant a 45-mph wind at the bow...and lots of rocking and rolling--DS got seasick for a time. I think HAL lost a lot on booze sales those few days, as we didn't need to drink to sway when we walked!

[akupupule]

One of our best trips was on Majesty several years ago, before the refurb. Great crew, nice ship, great group of passengers, a lot of "energy" and good vibes on this ship. One downside: the teeny tiny cabins. Pack light. :D

[timothy998]

Thanks for the tip...the CC review said it had cabins that were 122 sq ft. Our HAL VE cabins were about 180-sq feet,but not sure if that also included the Verandah, but for only a few nights, and we'd have to get two cabins, we can survive. Plus, as another poster noted, we're not at home working and/or doing chores!